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Former Mayor Norquist says Sydney Hih worth keeping

Tomorrow morning the Common Council will decide, perhaps once a for all, the fate of the Sydney Hih, a complex of buildings more than a century old and with a more recent and colorful history as an enclave of counterculture. »Read Full Blog Post

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Tear it down. It's unsalvageable and is tying up what is otherwise a valuable piece of real estate for the right user. Historic preservation should be used for what's worth preserving, not a claptrap remnant of the 60's.

@cheeseman forever - That building complex has been around since before Milwaukee was even called Milwaukee, it's the last remnant of Kilbourntown, the very roots of our city. It was built by a world famous surgeon named Dr. Nicholas Senn. He actually had a medical laboratory in the basement of Sydney Hih and was the first known surgeon to use protective gloves during surgery. The history of Sydney Hih goes back to the 1840's. Do some research then comment.

I think a wise policy for the city of Milwaukee would be to do the exact opposite of anything John Zero Norquist recommends we do or don't do, given his miserable mayoral legacy.

I was for tearing this eyesore down before John Zero weighed in, now I know I'm on the right side of this debate. What an embarrassment that is for the city. And anyone claiming it has historic relevance is at best being very creative with their logic and at worst, just outright lying.

@lovemywarriors - you should research Milwaukee history a bit before you comment. The corner building of the Sydney Hih Complex was built by the most famous surgeon to ever come our of Milwaukee, Dr. Nicholas Senn. He actually had an experimental medical laboratory in the basement of Sydney Hih. He was the first known surgeon to use protective gloves during surgery and the experiments he performed in the basement of Sydney Hih forever changed the way the world practiced abdominal surgery.

The Sydney Hih Complex was once the most prominent financial institution in the State, called the West Side Bank. Many well known bands played live shows in the basement of Sydney Hih after it was turned into a bar/music venue called The Unicorn. Nirvana, Soundgarden, Green Day, Pearl Jam all preformed at Sydney Hih before becoming famous.

Hundreds of local artists and musicians lived and performed in studios at Sydney Hih, many going on to world wide fame,(like Citizen King). Some art done by an artist called Prophet Blackmon is now hanging in the Smithsonian, and the Milwaukee art museem. Prophet Blackmon created this in Sydney Hih.

Do some research, that building complex has more history than most buildings in Milwaukee and it's the last remnant of Kilbourntown, it's been around since before Milwaukee was even called Milwaukee.

I suppose you're talking about that underutilized piece of highway that nobody needed and was eating up land that could potentially be developed. That same piece of unnecessary expressway was costing the taxpayers more than they were getting out of it. Getting rid of it iwas solid decision making, I say.

The fact that another lefty has surfaced to actually defend Norquist is laughable. While he was getting his rocks off with various women around town while the city burned should be proof enough for anyone, other than Max77 of course, that Norquist is an idiot.

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